Cleaner skies, healthier lives and a shinier Big Apple are some of what the much-talked-about changeover from No. 6 and No. 4 fuel oil is intended to accomplish. Under New York City's “Clean Heat” mandate (part of former Mayor Michae…
One of the defining architectural parts of a New York City building are its windows—whether it’s an ornate decorative window, one designed for energy savings or a large window that envelopes the side of a structure. In a co-op or con…
It was January 1977 when the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) first identified and isolated a previously unknown strain of bacteria found breeding in the cooling tower of a hotel air conditioning system. The bacteria, subsequently named L…
Pests are a part of life. Wherever there are people, vermin of one kind or another are sure to follow. This is particularly true in an ultra-dense urban environment like New York City, where our rodents and cockroaches are practically lege…
Everyone wants to live in a clean building—that's a given. Back in the day, a bucket, mop and a bottle of bleach or ammonia were pretty much all that a superintendent needed when it came to cleaning entry halls, stairwells and other reside…
In terms of wear and tear on buildings, winter is the harshest season of the year. Snow accumulation and ice damming on roofs can be a major headache, pipes freezing and bursting could spell disaster, and just about any accumulation of wat…
After the devastating winter the New York metro area just experienced, summer couldn’t come soon enough for many of Gotham’s co-op and condo residents. But don’t be surprised when people start forgetting about the cold and start complainin…
As we hopefully move into warmer weather, lucky New Yorkers living in condos or co-ops with pools can spend all day tanning and swimming in the indoor or rooftop pools housed in their buildings. A swimming pool is a rare and valuable…
James Gulliver Hancock, an Australian illustrator who now lives in Brooklyn, is attempting to draw all the buildings in New York—all of them. From brownstones on Bank Street to the palatial condo buildings of Park Avenue, from the Flatiron…
The old expression says, ‘put your best face forward,’ and the same goes for co-op and condo buildings. But a building façade is more than just the face it shows to the street—it’s a protective barrier against the elements and an integral …